which way the wind is blowing
- idiom
- Informal
:
ver cómo están las cosas
- Successful politicians always know which way the wind is blowing among their constituents.
And, you know, politicians do their thing, you know, trying to figure out which way the wind is blowing.
- And, you know, politicians do their thing, you know, trying to figure out which way the wind is blowing.
Examples
-
Before making a decision, it's wise to understand which way the wind is blowing in the meeting.
-
I don't know which way the wind is blowing with Cyrus.
-
In business, you must figure out which way the wind is blowing to adapt your strategies effectively.
Synonyms
1
7.8
To understand how things work in a place or job
Antonyms
How Informed
627
3.5
∞
2.8
- Informal
2
4.4
- Informal
40
2.1
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
which + way + the + wind + be + blow
The phrase literally asks about the direction the wind is blowing, so knowing 'which', 'way', 'wind', and 'blow' gives a clear image of direction or tendency; this image is plausibly extended metaphorically to mean the prevailing opinion or state of affairs. However, mapping that physical image to the abstract idea of 'current opinion' requires a figurative inference that a B1 learner may not reliably make without exposure, and although the wind-as-tendency metaphor exists cross-linguistically, the specific idiomatic use is not fully predictable.
Etymology
Which way the wind is blowing comes from the simple image of watching the wind to know which way things will move. Farmers and sailors would watch the wind to decide when to act, so the saying now means 'to check the situation' or 'to see what people think' before you do something.